Advice on "nibbles" on a OEC please

[Ssteel]

Hello All.

Do all OEC cushions have nibbles (ring is 100+ years old)? I'm looking at a stone that I really like but it does have a few "nibbles" on the girdle - which is also quite thin. Re-polishing is out of the question.

Would you walk away? It's a good price and I'm pretty enamoured with it.

TIA

 

[arkieb1]

It's very common to have fleabites out of Old stones, it depends on how bad they are, if they pose any durability risks like if you smack your hand and the ring on something is this going to crack or break the diamond and if the cost of repolishing is worth the effort. Generally tiny nicks out of the girdle are common and fine. The only time I would not risk it is if there is a chip or piece out of the girdle that is near or joining a feather or other type of inclusion that could pose durability issues because there would be a much higher risk of it being easily damaged. I also would not pick a stone with a big ugly chunk out of it.

Diamonds with super thin girdles can also be more easily chipped and should be in settings that offer as much protection as possible like a bezel, a halo or a lot of prongs.

 

[Ssteel]

Thanks Arkieb1.

No big chips, just some little "flea bites" (cool description - that's exactly what I think they look like) around the girdle. I'll check it out again to make sure they're nowhere near any inclusions (it's a pretty clean stone, though - not that I'm an expert by any stretch of the imagination).

Weird, but since I came here and saw all the old beauties, my longing for a whiter MRB has flown out the window completely! I love the chunky cuts, flower patterns, culets and, most of all (which has shocked me after years of being told whiter is better!), the beautiful vanilla and ivory shades of the lower coloured stones. I've even come to appreciate inclusions and the no-so-perfect symmetry. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder